Nokia Lumia 900 can be purchased for $49

Mark Raby, 4th May 2012

The new, higher-end version of Nokia's Lumia phone is now available for just $49 on Amazon.
That is, of course, for consumers who sign up for a new two-year service agreement. But it's less than the $99 that the phone was at launch, and perhaps a sign that the Lumia name is not catching on as much as Nokia - and retailers - would have liked.

The 900 packs in a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdraggon processor, and compatibility with LTE high-speed 4G connectivity. But it will still carry a price tag well below almost all Android phones and iPhones.

Nokia was eager to boast about sales of the phone's predecessor, the Lumia 710, which was its very first Windows Phone device and marked Nokia's return to the US market. However, the company has remained very quiet on the performance of the 900.

An extraordinary TV ad campaign was launched for the new Nokia device, and AT&T retail employees reportedly went through rigorous training about what the phone brings to the market and how to peddle it to customers. There is now some question as to whether or not those efforts led to significant sales.

Nokia quickly vaulted to the status of being the top Windows Phone manufacturer, although that's kind of like being the best player in Little League - you'll still have a tough time competing in the MLB. In other words, Android and iOS are still dominating the market, and Nokia has a long way to go if it wants to legitimately compete in that field.

So far, Nokia has made quite an impression, and there is the possibility that it could almost single-handedly help bring Windows Phone within striking distance of the two larger smartphone OS players. It will need to continue innovating if it wants that to happen.